Cancer & Immunology Overview
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Cancer & Immunology Overview

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary function of immunotherapy in cancer treatment?

  • To reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
  • To directly kill cancer cells.
  • To help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells. (correct)
  • To prevent the spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body.

    • Which of the following is NOT a step in the development of metastatic cancer?

  • Acquisition of a blood supply
  • Inappropriate mitosis
  • Increased cell adhesion (correct)
  • Escape from apoptosis

    • How do cytotoxic T-cells primarily eliminate infected cells?

  • By releasing antibodies that bind to the infected cells.
  • By producing cytokines that attract other immune cells.
  • By inducing apoptosis in the infected cells. (correct)
  • By engulfing and digesting the infected cells.

    • What is the primary role of regulatory T-cells?

    <p>To suppress cytotoxic T-cells that recognize normal cellular proteins.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What experimental evidence suggests that the immune system regulates tumorigenesis?

    <p>Mice with defective immune system genes have an increased rate of cancer.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the significance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in cancer?

    <p>TILs could be recruited to either help or attack the tumor.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why might immune recognition of tumors often be a late step in oncogenesis?

    <p>Tumors may only trigger an inflammatory response after significant growth and spread.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a mechanism by which tumor cells can evade the immune system?

    <p>Increasing MHC protein expression</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do stromal cells aid in cancer progression?

    <p>By releasing growth factors that stimulate tumor growth.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the function of PDGF in tumor development?

    <p>To attract fibroblasts that produce ECM and enhance cell proliferation and migration.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is anoikis?

    <p>Cell death due to detachment from ECM.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why does inhibiting VEGF inhibit tumor progression?

    <p>VEGF is essential for the formation of new blood vessels that support tumor growth.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a characteristic of tumor vasculature that distinguishes it from normal vasculature?

    <p>Tumor vasculature is often poorly organized and leaky.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is Avastin (bevacizumab)?

    <p>A humanized monoclonal antibody against VEGF.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main concern about prostate cancer screening?

    <p>It may lead to the diagnosis and treatment of cancers that would not have caused harm.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary cause of death in most cancer patients?

    <p>Metastatic cancers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the basal lamina?

    <p>A matrix of densely woven extracellular proteins that separates epithelial tissues from underlying connective tissues.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the relationship between tumor size and metastasis?

    <p>Tumor size correlates with metastasis, but it is not strictly determinative.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)?

    <p>A process that occurs normally during wound healing and development, in which epithelial cells lose their cell-cell adhesion and gain migratory and invasive properties.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the roles of Snail and Twist genes in cancer?

    <p>They are transcription factors that regulate many different EMT genes, contributing to the acquisition of invasive behaviors.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do cancer cells exploit healthy cells during metastasis?

    <p>By inducing wound-response behaviors in neighboring cells, triggering EMT and the release of MMPs.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)?

    <p>Enzymes that degrade the extracellular matrix, facilitating tumor cell invasion.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the significance of breaching the basal lamina in cancer?

    <p>It marks the transition from a usually benign tumor to a usually malignant tumor, as tumor cells can then invade surrounding tissues and blood vessels.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which statement best describes the role of cancer cell migration in metastasis?

    <p>Migration involves the ability of cancer cells to break down extracellular structures.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What triggers apoptosis in tumor cells?

    <p>Certain therapeutic agents</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why are the lungs often the first site where metastatic cells arrive?

    <p>The lungs are highly vascularized</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is extravasation in the context of cancer metastasis?

    <p>Cancer cells invading new tissue from the bloodstream</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are micrometastases?

    <p>Small clusters of cancer cells that have not formed a macroscopic tumor</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the 'seed and soil' model of metastasis propose?

    <p>Cancer cells only thrive in suitable microenvironments</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one reason why bones are common sites of metastasis?

    <p>Cancer cells can exploit growth factors from bone tissue</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does Peyton Rous's discovery of the Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) signify?

    <p>It was the first proof that a virus could induce cancer</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How did early 20th-century scientists differentiate between bacteria and viruses?

    <p>Based on their shape and size under a microscope</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How were viruses originally distinguished from bacteria?

    <p>By their size relative to filters used in experiments.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What defines a focus in tissue culture cells?

    <p>A collection of transformed cells with altered features.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the distinction between c-src and v-src?

    <p>c-src is the normal form; v-src is the mutated form linked to cancer.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What differentiates acute transforming viruses from slowly transforming viruses?

    <p>Acute viruses rapidly induce cancer, whereas slowly transforming viruses take time.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does insertional mutagenesis involve?

    <p>Mutations resulting from integrated foreign DNA into the host genome.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What role does the LMO2 gene play in gene therapy?

    <p>It is linked with T-cell leukemia, where vector integration occurred.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What led to Kaposi's Sarcoma being considered a familial disease initially?

    <p>It primarily affected specific ethnic groups suggesting a genetic basis.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Cancer & Immunology

    • Immunotherapy aims to enhance the immune system's ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells.
    • Metastatic cancer develops through a series of steps, including uncontrolled cell division (mitosis), evasion of programmed cell death (apoptosis), acquisition of blood supply, and increased cell adhesion.

    Immune Cells

    • Cytotoxic T cells eliminate infected cells by inducing apoptosis.
    • Regulatory T cells suppress cytotoxic T cells that recognize normal cellular proteins, preventing autoimmune responses.

    Tumorigenesis

    • Mice with defective immune system genes have increased cancer rates, suggesting immune system regulation of tumorigenesis.
    • Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) can either help or attack the tumor, depending on their function and the tumor's characteristics.
    • Tumors often actively suppress the immune system in early stages, delaying immune recognition.

    Tumor Evasion

    • Tumor cells evade the immune system by various mechanisms, including hiding their identity, avoiding apoptosis, downregulating MHC protein expression, and inducing immune cell apoptosis.

    Stromal Cells

    • Stromal cells are connective tissue cells that play a crucial role in tumor growth and progression.
    • Stromal cells release growth factors that stimulate tumor growth and contribute to tumor microenvironment formation.

    Angiogenesis

    • Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) attracts fibroblasts that produce extracellular matrix (ECM) and enhance cell proliferation and migration.
    • Anoikis is programmed cell death that occurs when cells lose attachment to their ECM.
    • Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) promotes angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels to support tumor growth.
    • Inhibiting VEGF inhibits tumor progression because VEGF is crucial for new blood vessel formation.

    Tumor Vasculature

    • Tumor vasculature is often poorly organized and leaky compared to normal vasculature.

    Avastin/Bevacizumab

    • Avastin is a humanized monoclonal antibody against VEGF, used to block VEGF activity and inhibit tumor growth by angiogenesis.

    Prostate Cancer Screening

    • Prostate cancer screening raises concerns because it may lead to the diagnosis and treatment of cancers that would not have caused harm.

    Metastasis

    • The basal lamina, a matrix of extracellular proteins, separates epithelial tissues from connective tissues and acts as a barrier to tumor invasion.
    • Tumor size often influences metastasis, but it's not strictly determinative.
    • The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process where epithelial cells lose cell-cell adhesion and gain migratory and invasive properties.
    • Snail and Twist genes regulate EMT genes, contributing to cancer cell invasion.
    • Cancer cells exploit healthy cells during metastasis by inducing wound-response behaviors.
    • Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) degrade the extracellular matrix, facilitating tumor cell invasion.
    • Breaching the basal lamina is significant as it allows tumor cells to invade surrounding tissues and blood vessels.
    • The lungs are often the first location for metastases due to their highly vascularized nature.

    Challenges of Metastasis

    • Cancer cells in the bloodstream face challenges like lack of solid matrix for attachment, tissue-specific growth factor requirements, and fluid shear forces.
    • Extravasation is the process of cancer cells leaving the bloodstream and invading a new tissue.
    • Micrometastases are single cells or clumps of cancer cells that have spread to a new tissue but have not yet formed a macroscopic tumor.
    • The "seed and soil" model of metastasis postulates that cancer cells (seeds) can only grow in suitable environments (soil).
    • Bones are a common site of metastasis due to the presence of growth factors in the bone ECM that can be released by osteoclasts.

    Viral Oncogenesis

    • Peyton Rous's discovery of the Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) provided the first experimental evidence of a virus causing cancer.
    • Viruses were distinguished from bacteria through filtration experiments, as viruses pass through filters that retain bacteria.

    Transformation

    • A focus in tissue culture cells is a cluster of transformed cells with altered morphology.
    • The cellular version of the src gene (c-src) is unmutated, while the viral version (v-src) is mutated and oncogenic.

    Viral Transformation

    • Acute transforming viruses induce cancer rapidly, while slowly transforming viruses take longer.
    • Insertional mutagenesis occurs when foreign DNA integrates into the host genome, potentially causing mutations and cancer development.
    • LMO2 is a known oncogene for T-cell leukemias, and the retroviral vector used in gene therapy trials integrated near this gene in some patients, leading to leukemia.

    Kaposi's Sarcoma

    • Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) was initially thought to be familial due to its prevalence in men of Mediterranean and Jewish descent before the AIDS epidemic.

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    Description

    This quiz covers key concepts in cancer and immunology, focusing on the role of the immune system in tumorigenesis and the mechanisms tumors use to evade immune detection. Explore topics such as immunotherapy, immune cell functions, and tumor microenvironments to better understand how cancer progresses and how the immune system can be leveraged for treatment.

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